RELEASE: Avent Announces Retirement Following Storied Career

Elliott Avent, who has developed and mentored hundreds of young men during his 30 years at NC State, has announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the season after 30 years at the helm of the NC State baseball program.   As the skipper of the Wolfpack, he not only posted more victories than any coach in school history, but also ranked among the most successful in the sport.

In his three decades in the position he called his “dream job” when he was hired in 1996, Avent established the Wolfpack as one of the nation’s most consistent programs. He is NC State's all-time winningest coach with 1,103 victories and has compiled 1,327 overall wins in his 38-year head coaching career.  He has led the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in 22 of 29 seasons, and his squads advanced to the College World Series three times - in 2013, 2021, and 2024.

“Elliott has built a lasting legacy at NC State and in the sport of college baseball, enjoying competitive success while touching so many lives in the process,” said McMurray Family Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan. “He has been a wonderful representative of our department and university and will forever be a part of our story. I want to thank him for his many contributions and wish him all the best in his retirement.”

“Not many people get the chance to do what they love at a place that means so much to them,” said Avent. “I've been lucky enough to have that opportunity and I've loved every minute of it. I want to thank all the coaches and staff who committed so much to make this journey so rewarding and successful. To our many loyal fans, I would like to say what an honor and privilege it has been to stand in that first base dugout at Doak Field and listen to you cheer our players. They played their hearts out for you and NC State. 

“Most of all, I would like to say thank you to the players. Your character, effort, love and respect for our great game made coming to the ballpark my favorite part of every day. There's no way I can express how much each and every player has meant to me. It’s hard to say goodbye to something that has been such a big part of my life, but I leave with a full heart and so much gratitude. This game is about teammates and memories. My memories will be a constant companion and our players, coaches, staff, and fans are teammates I'll hold in my heart forever. So long from #9.”

“Coach Avent will forever be a part of the rich fabric of NC State Athletics, having been at the heart of NC State’s baseball program for 30 years,” said Chancellor Kevin Howell. “We are incredibly grateful for his decades of commitment to coaching and mentoring our student-athletes, so many of whom have gone on to have successful careers in the sport. Not only has Elliott been an exceptional coach, he’s been an exceptional member of the Wolfpack community.”

An ambassador for NC State and for college baseball, Avent’s career was highlighted not only for the success he enjoyed on the field, but for the relationships he established off of it.  Generations of players credit him not only for making them better players but also for making them better people. 

Avent captured both ACC and National Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and was named USA Baseball's College Coach of the Year in 2021.  In 2026, he became just the third active coach in college baseball to post 1,300 career wins and just the 24th D1 coach ever to cross that threshold. He was honored by North Carolina Governor Josh Stein with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award for significant contributions to the state. The new baseball clubhouse at Doak Field was recently named the Elliott Avent Clubhouse in his honor. 

Under Avent, the Wolfpack advanced to 22 NCAA regionals and six Super Regionals. Forty of his players earned All-America honors, and of the 10 total players to earn first-team All-America accolades in the NC State baseball program’s 118-year history, eight were coached by Avent. He also mentored 104 All-ACC players, including 43 first-teamers, and 137 of his players have been selected in the MLB draft - 58 since 2015.

Thirty-one of his former players are currently playing professional baseball, including four on MLB rosters.

Avent was selected for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team coaching staff in 2004 and '15, and named manager of the team in 2021. He won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the World University Games in Chinese Taipei in 2004. 

In 2024, Avent became just the fifth active head coach in Division I baseball and the 35th qualifying Division I head coach (active or inactive) to reach 1,000 wins at one school.

Before coming to NC State, Avent spent eight seasons (1989-96) at New Mexico State University, where he compiled a 224-213 record and left as the second-winningest coach in school history. Avent took over a New Mexico State program that school administrators were considering dropping and guided it to its greatest success ever. He was inducted into the New Mexico State Athletics Hall of Fame before the start of the 2023 baseball season.

A native of Nash County, Avent attended NC State before beginning his coaching career as an assistant coach at North Carolina Wesleyan from 1981-82 under former Old Dominion head coach Tony Guzzo. He followed Guzzo to Virginia Commonwealth in 1983 and worked there for one season. From 1984-85, Avent was an assistant coach at Louisburg (N.C.) Junior College under Hall of Fame coach and NC State alumnus Russ Frazier.

After his two seasons at Louisburg, Avent was on Joe Breedon’s staff at William & Mary for two years. In 1988, he returned to Raleigh to join Ray Tanner’s first staff at NC State and helped guide the Wolfpack to a then-school record for wins and a 45-16 overall record.